Eyeshield for headgears



`- z, 1952 H, VACA 2,619,641'

EYESHELD FOR HEADGEARS Filed May 16', 1951 "@remewnwgggg INVENTORHumberto -l/oco ATTOPNEKJ'- Patented Dec. Z, 1952 UNITED sTAres "FFICE 6Claims.

This invention relates to an eye shield construction in the nature ofsun glasses to be secured to the under side of the visor of head gearsuch as the bill of a cap, or the brim of a hat, or similarly mounted onother head gear. The construction is such that the eye shield may bemoved to and from positions of use and positions of non-use.

The invention aims to provide a construction of simplified formembodying a minimum number of parts so that the same can be manufacturedwith facility and supplied to the public at a relatively low cost, Whileat the same time, the construction is positive and sure in operation. Inthe position of non-use, the shield is positioned so as to underlie thevisor and in its position of use, it depends therefrom in a position inthe line of sight of the wearer. In this connection, the shield has apivotal motion. Also,

the shield is slidably adjustable to the end that it may be shiftedtoward and away from the face of the wearer. This is particularlyconvenient as it makes the device adjustable to accommodate differentfacial contours and also makes the device adjustable so that it may beconveniently used by persons who wear spectacles.

A device constructed in accordance with the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a general view showing the structure applied to a bill of acap and illustrating the shield in its position of use.

Fig. 2 is an underside View of the bill of the cap showing the shield inits position of nonuse.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken through the bill of the capshowing the structure in position of use and illustrating in dottedlines, a second position.V

Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 showing the structureshifted to a position of nonuse.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective showing the underside of the structureand illustrating the spring element.

Fig. 6 shows the hinge element on the shield.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the formation ofthe spring member to provide a sliding action.

Fig. 8 is a view of a modified form of spring.

`It is appreciated that an eye shield of this general type is notentirely new and, as a matter of fact, I have obtained several patentson eye shields of this nature. One patent which I have obtained is No.2,538,608 of January 15, 1951. However, as explained above, the purposeof this invention is to provide a structure of a more simplified naturepossessing both a pivotal adjustment and a sliding adjustment and onewhich is so designed that it can be manufactured with great facility andthus suplied to the public at a low cost.

2 In Fig. 1 a cap is shown at I with its bill 2 which projects over theeyes of the wearer and the shield generally illustrated at 3 is in itsposition of use. 'Ihis shield may have a frame 5 conveniently shaped inthe conventional form of sun glasses. The shield carries suitable lightfiltering material 'I which may be of any desired substance, such as acolored plastic or glass or al substance for polarizing the light. Thematerial 'I may, in fact, be lenses ground to prescription to correctimperfect vision if the same be desired.

The frame 5 may be of plastic material and a hinge or pivot element maybe secured to what may be termed the upper central portion thereof. Thishinge element, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, has a body portion I0 whichmay be inserted into the material of the frame as indicated at I I andcemented thereto. However, the frame and pivot member may be formedintegrally of one piece. This member has a central thickened portion orfillet I3 for carrying a pintle I5 which may be of plastic material andwhich may be inserted in an opening in the llet and cementedL thereto.This pintle is advantageously of plastic material. The pintle and lletmay be integrally formed of plastic material or other substance. Thebody portion terminates in shoulders I6 and it has an angularlyprojecting part or finger I8 provided with oppositely extendingprojections I9.

There is a support and guide member arranged to be mounted on the underside of the visor of the head gear. This member is conveniently in theform of a, body of metal having a back portion 20 with apertures thereinso that it may be secured to the visor as by means of rivets or the like2|. The edges of this body member are fashioned to provide channels 22and 23. One end of the body 20 is provided with a projection 24 whichmay be formed by indenting or pressing out the metal and the side wallsof the channels 22 and 23 are formed with inwardly extending projections25. These may be provided by pressing the metal to form an inwardlyextending teat. v

There is a single spring element generally illustrated at 30. Ithas anend portion 3|, here shown as being of rectangular shape arranged to bepositioned so that opposite edges thereof are engaged in the channels 22and 23. In other words, the width of this end piece 3I is such that itis retained in the channels and yet it may slide therein. The corners ofthe portion 3l are provided with means Vfor engaging and nicely slidingupon the guide. Near the free end of the portion 3| the corners areprovided with depressed portions forming teats or bumps 32. These faceupwardly to slidably engage the guide as shown in Fig. 7. The other twocorners are provided with similar formations 33 which face downwardly toslidably engage in the channel (Fig. 4). The spring has a narrowedcentral portion 35 formed by cut out portions 36 for passing between theinturned edges of the channel and it has an end portion 33 which liesoutside the channel and is formed with two laterally spaced hook likebearing members 33 and 43. These bearing members engage the pintle l5.

In making the assembly, the portion 3| of the spring element can beeasily slipped into the channel from the left hand end thereof as Fig. 3is viewed. The end of the portion I8 is placed in the channel with theprojections I9 engaging in the respective channels. Then the spring isflexed so that the bearing portions 33 and, 43 may be engaged over thepintle l5. The spring lthus remains under tension atv all times. Theextending portion, of the spring which is outside the channel yieldablyurges the pintle l5 toward the guide, the spring acting as a cantileverwith its support obtained by contact of the elements 32 and 33 withopposite sides of the channels.

In operationthe finger l swings over cen.-

ter as it is shifted to and from operative and` non-operative position.In Fig. 4, which is the non-operative position, the projections i@engage the guide and the force of the spring maintains a yieldingpressure on the pintle tending to rock the shield clockwise about theend of the projection i3. The spring thus holds the shield snuglyagainst the underside of the bill 2. lhen the shield is swungcounter-clockwise from the Fig. 4 position, the spring is flexed and thefmger I8 moves over center andthe structure ultimately reaches theoperative position, as shown in Fig. 3. In this position, the springYholds the shield strongly in position as the shoulders I3 abut thechannel formation on each side of the guide. In this position, theyielding action of the spring tends to swing the shield counterclockwiseas Fig. 3 is viewed. The shield is accurately and strongly positioned bythe engagement of the shoulders Iii with the two channels.

The shield may be adjusted lengthwise in the channel by merely slidingthe same along the the same in which action the rounded teats or bumps32 or 33 nicely slide on the metal of the guide. These teats preventsharp edges from cutting into the guide or scraping the same. Since thespring is always under tension, the portion 3| is always in an angularposition, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and the teats 32 and 33 yieldablyengage the surfaces of the channels. The forward limit of slidingadjustment is determined by the projection 25, against which the part 3labuts. The inwardly extending projections 25 limit the rearward slidingposition as the body portion 3| abuts against the same. The elements 25do not interfere with the projections It.

The modiiied form of spring shown in 8 is formed of spring wire. Thewire is fashioned to provide a portion Sia to be received in the guide,the intermediate narrow portion 33a and the outer portion 38a. Thebearings 33a and #lila are formed by hook shaped parts at the end of thespring. rIhis spring may be inserted in the guide the same as the springmade out of strip material and insofar as its function is concerned, itacts like and is a flat spring.

It will readily be seen that the shield may be moved from one positionto the other to filter the rays of light or otherwise protect the eyesof the wearer depending upon the substance used in the shield. A personwho wears spectacles may desire to shift the shield so that it is in arelatively outward position and thus does not engage the spectacles. Theshield may be easily removed from the guide for purposes of changing thetype or color of the light filtering material. By the use of a sharpinstrument a spring may be flexed so that it may be moved over theprojection 24.

I claim:

1. An eye shield attachment for head gear having a visor, comprising, aguide member having a back portion and an inwardly opening channelateach edge for attachment to the under side of the visor with the guidemember extending in a fore and aft direction, a spring of flat formhaving an end part slidably engaged in thechannels, a relatively narrowintermediate part extending out between the channels and a second endpart positioned outside the channels, said second end part havingbearing means, a shield, pintle means on the shield engaged vin thehearing means, a finger extending angularly from the shield and engagingthe guide member, the pintle rmeans being at all times spaced from theguide member so that the spring is under ten-sion andV with the firstnamed end of the spring yieldably and slidably engaging in the channelsof the guide memloer, said shield being movable aboutr the axis of thepintle to and from` inoperative position in which it lies substantiallyagainst the underside of the visor and operative position in which itdepends from the visor in the line of sightV of the wearer, and the said:linger being shiftable from one side to the other of a center linethrough the pintle means so that said spring holds the-shield in bothpositions.

2. The eye shield as substantially described in claim 1, characterizedin that the bearing means on the spring member is of hook form and isdetachably engageable with the pintle means.

3. The eye shield as substantially described in claim l, characterizedin that the guide member has projections thereon engageable by the rstnamed end of the spring to limit the fore and aft sliding movementthereof.

4. The eye shield as substantially described in claim l, characterizedin that the first named end of the spring has a dimension measuredlengthwise of the guide member, such that when the spring is flexed, oneedge of said end yieldably bears against the surfaces on one side of thechannels and the opposite edge of' said end engages against the surfacesat the opposite sides of the channels.

5. The eye shield as substantially described in claim 4, characterizedin that said rst end of the spring member is formed with roundedprojections for slidably engaging the surfaces of the channels.

6. The eye shield as substantially described in claim l, characterizedin that the shield has a shoulder adjacent the pintle for engaging theguide member when the shield is in operative position for holding theshield xed against the tension of the spring.

HUMBERTO VACA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the le of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

